Revisiting a sad and infuriating statistic

Hannah Upp. If you watch television, own a computer and especially if you live in NYC, there is no escaping this woman's name, face, story. She's missing! She's a school teacher! OMG, she lives in Harlem! The media who claim to be so compassionate about stories of missing people did all but print a story about her body being found somewhere. Notices went up on all the social networking sites, email vigils were forwarded to people's inboxes and then days later, Upp is spotted and then positively identified by her parents in the Apple store on fifth avenue.

Now, stories are surfacing that maybe she wanted to disappear from the face of the Earth, overlooking the small fact that her friends and family would be worried sick looking for her. I don't want to sound angry but bias is bias and when it's so blatant and no one takes accountability for it, it's hard to sympathize for one young woman going through a personal crisis, when there are families of hundreds of women of color who will never see their daughters again. I sincerely hope that Upp is okay and that she deals with whatever she is going through. Just like I sincerely wish the media would fairly cover all missing person's cases with the same fervor and round the clock coverage of a pretty white girl with a flower in her hair.

Passionate and informative video on the subject via Brave New Films after the jump:



Links via ABC news
Wikipedia

Hmmmmmm.......

It's no secret that, while conflicted about it, I am somewhat of a Disney groupie. Since I saw Lady and the Tramp when I was about 5, ( and when it's good, it's not all good) I've been hooked. (I also know at least two songs from every Disney musical ever made but shhhh...don't tell anybody).

So bear with me as I pause (kind of) to pass judgement on this new Disney film set in New Orleans featuring the first Black female princess. Not even out yet, The Princess and The Frog is already stirring controversy, as Disney literally had to go back to the drawing board after
originally making her a god damn maid. (Some studio exec probably rationalized: Hey, Cinderella was a maid! No one had a problem with that!)

So she's no longer a maid but the fact that it's set in a place and time where technically, princesses can't really exist bothers me. Why can't little black girls wander off into far away lands of unspecified origin in their daydreams instead of colonial America? Black people love escapist fantasy just as much as the next person. And even though Disney will make a killing off of the marketing and merchandise of this film because parents will buy their kids anything, isn't it a little too late for hand drawn animation? Wouldn't this have fared better pre-Pixar, say right after Mulan?

And then I come to what I know will ultimately piss me off about this film. The buck toothed, slack jawed, Sambo-like insect that I guess is supposed to invoke fond memories of Jiminy Cricket or Sebastian the crab but really is just some of the most ridiculous, stereotypical shit I have ever seen. I won't post any links to the trailer here, as I have already (unsuccessfully) tried not to pass judgement. Google it, and see for yourself.

And let me end with saying that Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters was and still is one of the most beautifully written, illustrated and imaginative children's books ever written. It should be required reading for every black mother who would like to have her daughter not grow up with identity/ self-esteem issues. (worked for me!) The story has romance, a handsome prince, drama, intrigue, talking animals and it's set in Africa. It's gorgeous and I've always thought it should be adapted to the big screen. But then again, if passed through the unrelenting stereotype machine that is American cinema, the end result would be nothing like the original. But I digress. Actually I don't.

The More Things Change....

Here we go again....I honestly don't know what to say or do anymore without becoming the enraged Black person everyone wants me to be, thinks I am, wishes I was, blah blah blah...this incredibly confusing, "it's cool to be un-PC, but still PC at the same time" era we live in is getting out of control. Did it ever occur to the snarky, (clever in their own heads) people at the New Yorker that they are giving way too many IQ points to a vast majority of Americans and so-called media savvy New Yorkers for that matter? That all the nutbag extremists who still think that the Obamas are closet terrorists won't take this magazine cover and run with it? What makes this so-called liberal magazine any different from the crazy assholes at Fox News? (see, they got me cussin')Or maybe that was the plan from the beginning. Perhaps all the "liberals" who come up with these gems are really hard-core republicans who are so frightened at the prospect of a Black president that they will go these extremes. Whatever the rationale behind this disgraceful "artwork", (Sorry, I'm not buying the satire angle) I am exhausted trying to wrap my head around why people are so resistant to change. It makes me very sad for this country and ALL the people who live in it.

Damn America?

I find myself in a sort of conundrum today...
The thing is, by posting this link to what I consider one of the most reprehensible and vile things about New York, I feel as if I'm only giving in to Internet hype instead of merely backing away. On the other hand, by ignoring the problem, I am potentially giving up on what should be a city-wide boycott of The Post, which is pretty much, unreadable. (My one loyal subscriber, if you're still out there, get to work!) Since I don't read the paper, I wonder if this "writer" reported Russell Crowe's phone throwing antics with the same self-entitled zeal. Or on Lilo Brancato for that matter, who is waiting to stand trial for murder. I'm not excusing stupid acts of violence by rappers but last time I checked a newspaper is supposed to report, not condemn. Not call a human being a "thing". Thanks to Gawker for noting this sad and ridiculous woman who calls herself a reporter. I have no idea why I chose the title for this post, it was the first thing that popped into my head. This was the second thing, quoted from some guy in a documentary some friends of mine are making: "America needs a nation-wide ass whuppin'." Amen.

Pauly shore is a severely unrecognized talent

Let me first preface this by saying, shut the F**K up Pauly Shore. Obviously Barack's ( yes, we are now on a first name basis) speech was lost on some, but hopefully not many. So Pauly Shore is just as funny if not funnier than Katt Williams? Really? I take back what I said about Spitzer needing some of what Bush is smoking. He needs to call this guy's dealer, quick.

Some keen observations from the genius behind Bio Dome:

• White people will be picking cotton very soon.
• The hierarchy of race is Persians (wtf), some Polish people, maybe some Jews and Black people at the top.
• He's a natural born comedian because he happened to be the offspring of a guy who owned a comedy club.

We'll see if I ever watch Son-In-Law at 3 in the morning on the CW anymore.
People have been saying this is some kind of joke but isn't that the thing about being Pauly Shore? He's not funny.
Let me end this by saying Shut the f**k up Pauly Shore.

What is happening to the World? Oh yeah...for a minute I thought things were getting better.

I am not particularly surprised just annoyed, that in less than a week, we have had two "insightful" viewpoints (and by insightful, I mean completely ridiculous, racist and unnecessary) from two of the foremost experts on race, Bill O' Reilly aka "Douche" and Adrienne Curry aka, "The girl who won the first Top Model, who married the least cute one from the Brady Bunch, who talks like she had way too many Jello shots at that party."

Oh, and let's not forget that wack-a doo Amenanjalalabad or whatever his name is....spouting all sorts of dangerous crazy blocks from where I work. Scary.

So O'Reilly is amazed (and you can hear it in his voice) that dining in a Black restaurant like Sylvia's is no different from dining in a white establishment. Well, this must be the most newsworthy story he has come out with since he started attacking rappers a while ago. He also goes on to marvel at all the "respectable, well- dressed" Black people at an Anita Baker concert. Blacks entertaining in tuxedos...just like the good old days. Get a clue, Bill. The more you open your bigoted mouth, the more you add to the problem. Does this guy have children? God, I hope not...imagine growing up in the O'Reilly household:

"Bill Jr., are you listening to that negro music again?"
"But dad, all the affluent, sheltered white kids at my school are listening to Ludacris!"
"Son, don't you know that rap music is the downfall of human civilization? Now let's go, we have reservations at Sylvia's...great place, I'm just puzzled as to why they don't have watermelon and malt liquor on the menu..."

What's even funnier (and not in a good way) is that he is actually mad that websites have him spewing this garbage on tape... he claims that it was taken out of context...of course! Silly me! Um, hello, it is your voice, on tape. You would think that this guy would learn about people recording his voice based on past indiscretions...oh well. Lesson to Bill that he is probably too old and out of touch to care about learning: It is not what you say, but how you say it. And who you say it to, like thousands of people on the radio. (idiot)

Now, in Adrienne Curry's defense, she is probably not that bright....seriously, what is up with the slurred speech? Head trauma as a child? A little too much huffing in high school? Whatever the reason, I actually got her intentions in posting this blog on myspace, but wonder of wonders, amidst all the uninformed, racist remarks her intentions like her modeling career, got lost. Yes model, we all get that in an ideal world, race should not be an issue and Black History is American history and blabbity blabbity blah....now once again, let's step into a little something I like to call reality. People of color way back when were basically robbed of any choice, any true freedoms so to hold on to what little identity we had left, to regain our pride, we had to find ways to show that yes, we are here and yes, it is a truly f***ed up situation but we have to do something to rise above it. Hence, BET (which should really be boycotted because it is garbage now...where is Donnie Simpson when you need him?) and Black History Month, AND Telemundo AND the Country Music Channel....everyone needs to identify with something, honey. Curry clearly does not understand that when you go off on rants like this and then say you are not racist, it makes you look (lean in closer) LIKE AN ASS. And of course days after, she issues the mandatory: "white guilt, half assed apology" (which she can pretty much keep) and continues to play the "I grew up like the family on Roseanne, I dated a Black guy so I understand" card. Give me a Break. Or better yet, read a book. I recommend The Invisible Man, The Autobiography of Malcolm X and the Bluest Eye. Then maybe she can really say that she is beginning to understand instead of claiming to already know.

As for this guy Ahmadinejad (yes, I really do know how to spell his name), what is there to say? He came to New York, he was predictably loony and our reaction to it might have made things even worse as far as American/ Middle East relations go, not that we didn't have the right to react. There's the conundrum of being an American. Can't we all just get along? I keep imagining all the Iranian gays in the audience when he spoke at Columbia after that ridiculous statement he made...how do you say "Oh no he didn't!!!" in Iranian?

This will most likely be the first and last biblical quote i put on here but isn't it so appropriate?

"Out of the Abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh."

-Matthew 12:34

image via Tim's Wine
links via Media Matters, Wikipedia, Myspace, Ifilm, NPR